Madhura Mukadam
Mosquitoes are the major vector for the transmission of malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, filariasis, schistosomiasis and Japanese encephalitis. Malaria is one of the most important causes of direct or indirect infant, child and adult mortality with approximately two to three million new cases arising every year, in the tropics, in general and India, in particular. There is a need for more effective antimalaria drugs with broad host specificity. Medicinal plants have been known to have antimalarial activity; however there is lack of data as well as research of the same. Insecticides of botanical origin may serve as suitable alternative biocontrol techniques. Although several plants have been reported for mosquitocidal activity, only a few plants are in actual use. The present work was aimed at finding the antimalarial activity of some medicinal plants like Momoradica charantia, Glyricidia sepium, Vitex neegundo, Gardenia jasminoides, Carica papaya, Annona reticulata L. and Chrysanthemum indicum L. The medicinal properties of these plants are known but the larvicidal activity has not been reported. The extracts of these plants were checked for larvicidal activity and the percentage mortality was calculated.
Larvicidal Activity, Mosquitoes